Carnegie Moscow Center
The Central and East European states integrated into liberal Europe because their ruling elites were able to reach a consensus, and because the European Union readily accepted them. By contrast, Russia has reverted to personalized power.
Russian policy makers need to open space for public debate and engage in substantive discussions on critical global issues, and Western governments and institutions need to open the door to independent Russian voices.
To the dismay of Russian reformers, a consensus seems to be growing among Western policymakers and intellectuals that Russia is not ready for liberalism and that there are even certain advantages to dealing with the illiberal political order built by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
A broad array of military, political, and legal issues exert an increasing influence on the issue of nuclear nonproliferation, and they must be taken into account in any effort to strengthen the nonproliferation regime.
Three months ago, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen presented the basis for a new strategic partnership with Russia, laying out the specific areas where practical cooperation could be extended. Now, the Secretary General comes to Moscow, reaffirming the preeminence of NATO-Russia cooperation on the Alliance’s agenda.
President Obama has had some major accomplishments in the past year, but serious challenges still lay ahead: strengthening the nonproliferation regime, climate change, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Iran, and Afghanistan.
Russia is the only major economy that is not a member of the WTO, but discussions over its accession have intensified, giving rise to important questions about the implications for world trade.
The hoped for undivided “Europe whole and free” of twenty years ago has today become a region in danger of seeing new lines divide the continent with the prospect of heightened tension for all. It will require adjustments and new thinking from all to recapture the promise of an undivided, secure, and prosperous region.
The Obama administration’s decision to abandon plans to deploy a European ballistic missile defense system has helped sooth relations with Russia and provided an opportunity for U.S.-Russian cooperation on missile defense.
In response to the diverse challenges facing the region, the Euro-Atlantic Security Initiative—an international commission to build the intellectual framework for an inclusive transatlantic security system for the 21st century—has been launched.